Team GT/Velokhaya Riders put in Strong Performance at this year's Giro del Capo

Race report for the 2009 Giro del Capo - including the prestigious Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour.

Cape Town, South Africa, March 16, 2009.

A surprise awaited the riders even before the start of this year's event when the organisers were forced to change the event from a 5 day stage race to a series of 1 day races. Although this meant that there would no longer be an overall race winner, each race was now classified as a UCI 1.2 level event. During the previous stage race event, all riders needed to finish within 15% of the winner's time to be allowed to continue the following day. Although there would now be no elimination, only the riders finishing within 5% of the winner's time would be classified in the race results. This meant that the Team GT/Velokhaya riders had their work cut out for them if they wanted to impress.

Race 1
The first race of 106km started in Wellington, completing a loop around the back of Baine's Kloof before finishing again in Wellington after the descent of the pass. The first 70km was fast and flat but the route is notorious for fierce cross winds. The wind did not disappoint and at the 50km mark the field was quickly sliced into small groups as the wind buffeted the riders. Team GT/Velokhaya were largely caught out however Songezo Jim managed to force his way into one of the front groups while his former team mate, Luthando Kaka, found himself in the breakaway group of 30 riders. The other team members were relegated to a group at the back of the field and were rapidly losing time on the leaders.
At the finish, it was by the smallest of margins that Songezo placed just outside the classification. This meant that none of the Team GT/Velokhaya riders appeared in the stage results, an inauspicious start to the week. As a result, the team vehicle was relegated to the back of the convoy and the team occupied last place in the rankings!

Race 2
The 143km race consisting of 3 laps over Vissershoek is always considered one of the hardest stages in the Giro. With temperatures predicted to soar into the 40's, it was going to be a true test of the rider's strengths. The bunch wasted no time on the first lap, with the average speed in the 50's and the temperature on the rise.
The first lap saw all of the Team GT/Velokhaya riders team make it over the climb in the front group and things were certainly looking better than the previous day. By 9:30am the temperature had reached 38 degrees and the pace started to slack off. A 10 man escape went away and were never to be seen again, containing some of the best riders from SA and the International teams.
The second ascent of the wall that is Vissershok resulted in Siyabonga Mnquazi and Sithembele Xusa being dropped from what was now a group of only 50-60 riders (180 had started). They chased in vain on the descent and were forced to call it a day. This left the team well represented with 3 good riders in the remaining bunch and only 1 ascent of Vissershok left.
On the final lap the pace in the group slowed dramatically. Songezo Jim and Luthando Kaka decided that this was an ideal opportunity to get a top 15 race result and attempted a lone escape halfway through the 50km lap. It was not to be and they were caught with about 20km to go. Songezo had spent himself and was ejected from the back of the group. Almost immediately Kurt Arendse found himself in trouble and was also summarily dropped. Only a few minutes before we had anticipated having 3 riders represented in the top 40, now we were left with one. Prince Maluleke had not come to the race with the fastest climbing legs but had ridden the day with aplomb. As we drove up next to him in the team car, 5km from the final climb, he turned to look at us and gave a quick thumbs up sign.
The group literally "shattered" as they hit the climb's steepest section of 14% with riders veering from left to right across the road and some virtually coming to a standstill. Further up the climb we could see Prince. He was still making progress but was losing ground on the front group. With the breakaway 7 minutes ahead of the front group, it meant that Prince would have to finish within 3 minutes of the groups front rider to still make it in on time. On the final 2km stretch to the finish after the climb (with team management screaming at him to continue) he forced himself to keep going, at one stage veering off onto the dirt in an almost delirious state. Finally, the finish line was in sight and crossing it 10:24 behind the winner, he became the last rider to make it onto the classification.
We had hoped for better but were satisfied with the valiant effort made by Prince. In a testament to the stage's difficulty, 7 teams did not have a single rider classified. This meant Team GT/Velokhaya moved up 8 places on the team classification and also for the convoy placing the following day. Luthando Kaka had another good but not stellar performance, ending the day in 27th place.

Race 3
The third race of the Giro is considered the toughest, with 180km and 2 category 1 climbs to cover. As an additional factor, the heat was expected to return for another scorching day in the 40's. The race got under way with the usual fast pace and the riders hit 50-60km/hr on the flat roads from Paarl to Franschoek. An untimely puncture meant Songezo Jim was left to chase the bunch at over 50km/hr to try and get back in. In a show of true teamwork, Siyabonga Mnquazi first gave Songezo his own wheel and after having received assistance from the team vehicle and making his way back to Songezo, proceeded to pace his teammate back to the bunch, sacrificing his own chances so that his stronger team mate would arrive at the first climb with fresh legs. The two riders made it back to the group as the field hit the 12km long Franschoek pass. Siyabonga was duly spat out the back and knew that his day was over, turning around and riding back to the hotel, his job done and a performance to be proud of. On the climb the pace stretched the field over 2 km of ribboned road, with the front half of the field cruelly leaving the lesser climbers to 140km of long, lonely riding ahead of them. At the bottom of the climb, Sithembele Xusa had experienced mechanical difficulty, quickly swopping to the team's spare bike and then, closer to the top of the climb, remounting his repaired bike and continuing. Despite these setbacks and as a testament to how his climbing has improved, he found himself in the second group after the climb and still in with a chance.
After the climb, the riders that were left in the race slowly regrouped and formed a field of only 80 strong that made its way toward the final climb of Du Toit's Kloof, another Category 1 monster that would decide the final placings. We were well represented with 4 riders remaining in the group and with a real prospect of getting them all into the classification.
The riders were made aware of what was expected on the final climb and they all rode to the best of their ability. Songezo was able to make it into the second group with Luthando while the other team members were well placed in the small groups that formed on the climb. At the finish, the stopwatch was running as all the riders needed to make it to the finish within 14 minutes of the winner to be classified. Songezo and Luthando were in 2 minutes behind the day's winner, Barloworld's Stephen Cummings. Next in were Kurt Arendse at 5 minutes, Sithembele Xusa at 8 minutes and finally Prince at 12 minutes.
All four riders were in on time and Team GT/Velokhaya was once again moving up, finishing the day in 21st place and one spot behind their Danish friends, Team GMH. In a testament to their achievement, 4 international teams finished behind them on the overall classification.

Race 4 - The Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour
With the Signal Hill time trial being cancelled, the riders were given a day's rest before participating in the final day's racing, the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour and the 4th race of the Giro del Capo. Mother nature brought out her best power for the day, with winds in excess of 140km/hr greeting the 30 000 riders making their way around the peninsula. As the riders got off the start line, a strong gust knocked down 10 elite riders at the back of the peloton, throwing them to the side of the road like a pile of discarded litter.
It was always going to be difficult to make an impact with such adverse conditions but the team had saved their best for the final day. Shortly after passing through Fish Hoek, a small group of 5 riders went away for what was to be the only meaningful breakaway of the day. As the race radio started to call out their numbers, we realised that Siyabonga Mnquazi and Songezo Jim were part of the breakaway. The group quickly built up a solid gap and this increased to 2:40 at one stage with Barloworld setting the pace at the front of the peloton, making sure that they would come back in time for the sprint finish.
Gaining valuable exposure on SABC television coverage the Team GT/Velokhaya boys were not done yet and decided to make the day even better. At the top of the first big climb, Smitswinkel, sat the KOM prime. Giving it their all, Songezo and Siyabonga took the first two places, and with that secured what was to be the most successful Giro del Capo of the team's short history. Later, the breakaway was brought under control by Barloworld and the customary sprint finish ensued. They were outdone by the Medscheme team though as Arran Brown took the overall win, with a very frustrated Robert Hunter taking second place.